Issues Paper on Exploring Space Technologies for Sustainable Development and the Benefits of International Research Collaboration in This Context
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United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development Inter-sessional Panel 2019-2020 7-8 November 2019 Geneva, Switzerland Issues Paper on Exploring space technologies for sustainable development and the benefits of international research collaboration in this context Draft Not to be cited Prepared by UNCTAD Secretariat1 18 October 2019 1 Contributions from the Governments of Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, United States of America, as well as from the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the World Food Programme are gratefully acknowledged. Contents Table of figures ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Table of boxes ......................................................................................................................................... 3 I. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4 II. Space technologies for the Sustainable Development Goals ......................................................... 5 1. Food security and agriculture ..................................................................................................... 5 2. Health applications ..................................................................................................................... 7 3. Access to telecommunications ................................................................................................... 8 4. Disaster risk reduction and humanitarian crises ........................................................................ 8 5. Natural resource and environment management .................................................................... 10 6. Other applications ..................................................................................................................... 12 III. Rapid technological change and bottlenecks in space science and technology ....................... 13 1. Recent technological developments ......................................................................................... 13 Artificial intelligence and cloud computing .................................................................................. 14 Emerging satellite and aerial platforms ........................................................................................ 14 Crowdsourcing .............................................................................................................................. 15 2. Bottlenecks in the use of space technologies ........................................................................... 15 Lack of awareness concerning the benefits of space technologies .............................................. 15 Lack of financial resources ............................................................................................................ 16 Technology and skills gaps ............................................................................................................ 16 Technical challenges: data access, standardization, data quality and user needs ....................... 17 Geographical constraints .............................................................................................................. 17 Regulations and governance of space commons .......................................................................... 17 IV. International scientific research in space for the Sustainable Development Goals ................. 18 1. International Space Station ....................................................................................................... 18 2. Regional cooperation on scientific research for space ............................................................. 19 3. International scientific research for drought monitoring from space ...................................... 20 4. Space-enabled research cooperation for disasters and humanitarian relief ........................... 21 5. International scientific cooperation to enhance access to space ............................................. 22 V. Policies and strategies ................................................................................................................... 23 1. National policies and strategies ................................................................................................ 23 Harness scientific research and technology applications in space to build capabilities, improve infrastructure, and increase public awareness ............................................................................. 23 Collaborate with technical and academic communities and the civil society to drive progress on the SDGs ........................................................................................................................................ 25 2 Continue to share data for development and adapt open data and open science policies and frameworks ................................................................................................................................... 25 2. Regional cooperation ................................................................................................................ 26 Promote regional awareness and consensus building on space for sustainable development ... 26 Encourage regional space activities to support research and development, capacity-building, and data sharing ........................................................................................................................... 27 3. Multi-stakeholder initiatives ..................................................................................................... 28 Encourage multi-stakeholder actors to continue to share EO digital public goods ..................... 28 Build space for SDG-focused global and public-private partnerships........................................... 28 4. International collaboration and cooperation ........................................................................... 29 Invest in multilateral mechanisms and platforms for sharing EO data assets .............................. 29 Strengthen international cooperation on space-related R&D and capacity-building .................. 29 Leverage intergovernmental platforms for space ........................................................................ 31 VI. Key questions for discussion ..................................................................................................... 31 References ............................................................................................................................................ 33 Table of figures Figure 1: How space research and development leads to terrestrial products .................................... 13 Figure 2: Countries by use of satellite services, investment in hardware, expertise and infrastructure .............................................................................................................................................................. 23 Figure 3: Potential motivations for developing countries to invest in space technologies and expertise ............................................................................................................................................... 23 Table of boxes Box 1: Developing maps with drones to build refugee resilience in Uganda ....................................... 10 Box 2: Meeting regional needs with Earth observation services and data........................................... 20 Box 3: South Africa’s Satellite Development Programme .................................................................... 24 Box 4: Selected international space cooperation projects of Mexico .................................................. 27 3 I. Introduction The United Nations has a long history in promoting greater international collaboration in outer space as well as the use of space technologies for sustainable development. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) was initially created in 1958, while the international community celebrated last year the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE). In recent years, there has been an increasing interest from Member States to use space applications for sustainable development, especially to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this context, the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) selected the topic of “Exploring space technologies for sustainable development and the benefits of international research collaboration in this context” in May 2019 as one of its priority themes for its twenty-third session. Space science2, technologies, and data have the potential to contribute in direct or indirect ways to all SDGs. Space science incorporates scientific disciplines involved in space exploration and the study of outer space natural phenomena and physical bodies, and often includes disciplines such as astronomy, aerospace engineering, space medicine and astrobiology. Space technologies often refer to satellite Earth observation (EO), satellite communication, as well as satellite positioning. Technologies